Clementine
by Pumpkin Chunk
Summary: It's a completely normal day in potions class. Then, a fourth-year Hufflepuff decides to sample her potion, much to Professor Snape's incredulity.
1. Chapter 1: Potions Class

**Chapter 1: Potions Class**

An eerie chill seems to seep into the dark classroom as Professor Severus Snape swoops from one cauldron to the next, making an occasional snide comment and shoving the noses of misbehaving students into their potion books. As he finishes his rounds, he flips his billowing black robes to the side as he sweeps back to his desk at the front of the room, where he wholeheartedly sinks into his chair and stares, unblinking, upon his students.

But his gaze is suddenly averted, as he hears a miniscule squeak by his desk. He looks up to find that Clementine Daybrook, a short, sandy-haired Hufflepuff fourth-year with darting eyes, is standing before him, not meeting his gaze. She seems quite anxious, and does not speak.

"What is it, Miss Daybrook? We do not have all day, you know."

"Y-yes, sir, I know, sir, um. I mean, yes, um, sir, I-I-"

" _Yes,_ Miss Daybrook."

"S-sir, do you have any….um...Pepto Bismol?"

"Pardon?"

"Pepto Bismol, sir. My tummy hurts rather badly." Clementine hugs her arms around her abdomen, and gives Professor Snape a look full of pain, but also utter embarrassment.

The professor looks back at her with undisguised bewilderment. "Miss Daybrook, you may be excused if you are too ill to complete class today. If you require it, do not hesitate to pay a visit to the Infirmary."

But the young student does not seem to be listening. She groans and says, "P-please, sir, I...I don't think I can move." She slowly sinks to the floor, tightly hugging her abdomen.

Professor Snape raises an eyebrow, rises from his chair, and, with his hands planted firmly on his desk, leans over to look down at the quivering girl, who is now crying on the floor.

" _Miss_ Daybrook."

"Y-y-yes, sir."

"Did you happen to _consume_ anything, since you entered this classroom today?"

"Oh! N-n-no, sir! No, I - well, sir, it was...an accident! It's just...I didn't have lunch today, and I was so hungry, and the potion smelled _so_ good, like my mom's stew, and I just tried a tiny spoonful! And it was _so_ good, sir! I'm sorry, sir, _so_ sorry, for breaking the rules!" But when Clementine finishes speaking, she looks up to find that the potions master has left his desk, and is nowhere in sight. She looks around the classroom at all the other students, who are trying to finish their potions before the end of class.

Another crushing cramp overcomes Clementine, and she lets out a small whimper. She hopes that the professor is looking for Pepto Bismol...although she's not at all certain, any more, whether it will be powerful enough to ease her stomach pain.

But suddenly, Clementine is struck with shame at her own foolishness. _How could I be so dumb? Wizards and witches don't use Pepto Bismol! Why would we, when we have magic?_ In her moment of weakness, the young girl had reverted back to her childhood proprieties; her parents, who were both muggles, used to always give her Tums, or Pepto Bismol, when her stomach was bothering her.

Clementine's cheeks suddenly feel very hot, and she wants to bury her face in her hands. She is filled with an overwhelming compulsion to just _get away_ from this situation, as soon as she can. Wincing through the pain, she runs to her desk, grabs her book, and throws her bag over her shoulder. Avoiding eye contact with any of the students she passes by, she quickly walks out of the classroom, quietly pushing the door closed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2: The Antidote

**Chapter 2: The Antidote**

Professor Snape struts quickly through his private stores, his eyes probing the shelves. The potion that he assigned to his students today is a classic rendition of Heavy Duty Cauldron Scouring Agent, a perfect remedy for cleaning the toughest stains and burn marks off of cauldrons that even a scouring charm just can't quite seem to address, but an entirely inedible substance that is quite notorious for being toxic. He knows that even a spoonful of this powerful potion can be deadly if the witless victim is left untreated. He sighs, and pulls out his wand. He gives it a flick, and the familiar, lumpy shape of a bezoar comes soaring toward him, from where it had perched on the top shelf at the back of his store area. Although he is reluctant to use this rare, and also very valuable, addition to his collection, he knows that the situation at hand is sufficiently drastic to necessitate its use.

The moment that the potions master steps out from his private store area, he turns and starts toward the front of the room, only to find that the young Miss Daybrook is no longer sitting on the floor in front of his desk - in fact, the professor finds, as he scans the vicinity, that she is nowhere in the classroom.

The professor strides over to the young student's desk, only to find that she has taken her belongings but abandoned her unfinished Scouring Potion in her cauldron. Thomas Haley, another Hufflepuff fourth-year, whose desk is right beside Miss Daybrook's, is just throwing the last bits of ground daisy-slugs into his cauldron as Snape approaches. The professor inquires, "Mr. Haley, did Miss Daybrook happen to inform you as to why she left class early without finishing her potion?"

"No, sir. She just grabbed her books and walked out. She seemed to be in a hurry." Thomas's curious eyes follow Professor Snape, as he very quickly turns and marches away. As soon as Snape arrives back at the front of the classroom, he leers out at the class and bellows, " _Class dismissed!_ Leave your potions."

Although there is only a quarter hour left of class, the students are rather caught off guard by the professor's outburst. Only three students have finished their Cauldron Scouring Agent potions so far. But they all obediently pick up their books, certainly much too glad to be let out of potions class early, than to inquire as to why.


	3. Chapter 3: Finding Miss Daybrook

**Chapter 3: Finding Miss Daybrook**

If the situation at hand were any less dire, Professor Snape would go to alert the Headmaster, but he knows that every moment he wastes could cost Miss Daybrook her life. Knowing he should not leave the fourth-years unattended in his classroom, the professor marches around the room, shoving unclaimed books into students' hands and and barking, " _We do not have all day! Leave at once!"_ The last student to leave his classroom happens to be Miss Emily Davis from Ravenclaw. Professor Snape vigorously shepherds her out, and rushes out right on her heels and slams the door after him. Miss Emily, unlike the other students, simply cannot contain her curiosity. She calls after Snape, who is already traipsing quickly down the hall: "Professor, is something wrong?" But the potions master doesn't seem to hear. Without turning back, he sweeps down the hall with a rather impressive air of duty and importance, and turns the corner. As his long strides quickly take him out of sight, a large group of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw fourth-years are left standing in front of the potions classroom, looking rather confused.

Snape heads in the direction of Hufflepuff House, knowing that Miss Daybrook could not have made it very far in her condition. But he has not gone very far at all before he notices a crowd of students gathering in the hallway just ahead. He rushes forward, his lengthy strides carrying him up to the group of students, who seem to be of varying ages and Houses. The students are gathered in a tight circle,and they all seem to be speaking at once, in hushed and disconcerted tones. But Professor Snape doesn't even have to say a word. As he approaches, the crowd disperses to allow him a clear view of Miss Daybrook, who is lying face down on the floor, her potions book lying open beside her where it had landed when she fell, and her book bag still half over her shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4: Madame Pomfrey

There is not a moment to waste. Professor Snape snarls, "Clear the immediate vicinity! There is no need here for _impertinent onlookers._ " The hall crowd is quickly broken up, as the suddenly bashful students turn away and go in their separate directions. But just in case any other students decide to come down the hall in the next few minutes, the potions master casts a disillusionment charm over Miss Daybrook and himself. Quickly getting down on his knees beside his unconscious student, he wastes no time with checking her vitals; knowing there is a good chance that the toxins have already taken her, he mutters, "Anapneo," and gives a flick of his wand to open up her esophagus. Dropping his wand beside him on the ground, the professor pries Clementine's mouth open with his left hand and gives his wand another flick; the bezoar comes flying out of the right pocket of his robes, and plunges down his student's throat.

 **Chapter 4**

Clementine jerks to consciousness, her eyes flying open and her heart leaping as she jolts upright in the bed. For a few moments she has no idea where she is. _Where are my friends? What happened to the Hufflepuff Common Room? What time is it? Did I sleep in? Oh no, am I late for class?_ But as Madame Pomfrey approaches her bed with a concerned expression, it suddenly all comes torrenting back to her memory: taking a bite of that potion, bashfully asking Snape for Pepto Bismol...she had left the classroom, but for some reason she couldn't quite remember what happened after that. Had she fainted?

"Madame Pomfrey!" She feels lost and disoriented. From the pale light filtering into the room, it appears to be later in the afternoon, maybe evening, and Clementine wonders how long she has been asleep.

"Relax, Miss Clementine. You've been unconscious for over 24 hours now. You just need to rest, so you can recover." Her eyes are soft as she leans over Clementine's bed, gently pushing the student back into a horizontal position. But Clementine exclaims, "Oh my gosh!Twenty-four _hours?_ What - what happened?"

The kind medicine witch lets out a small sigh, and sits down at the edge of Clementine's bed. "When Severus brought you here yesterday afternoon, you were unconscious. He told me that you had sampled a highly poisonous potion during class." Madame Pomfrey pauses for a moment to give Clementine a dismayed look. "You certainly should have known better, Miss Daybrook."

Clementine blushes and mutters, "Yes, I know." But then she looks up to gaze hopefully into Pomfrey's stern eyes, wishing for her to continue explaining what happened yesterday. The medicine witch looks away, and lets out another sigh. "He told me that you had left without telling him, and he was forced to let the entire class out early so that he could go and look for you." Clementine's eyes widen. She feels terrible that she caused so much trouble. That certainly had not been her intention when she had hurried from class the day before.

"Professor Snape saved your life, Clementine. If he had not found you as quickly as he did, you would have died. In fact, when he found you on the floor in the corridor, you were not very far from death. But he used a bezoar to cleanse your body of the poison, just _barely_ in time." She looks down at the young witch with knowing eyes. "Now, please, relax." Madame Pomfrey gets up from Clementine's bed and walks away, but only to return a short time later with a small goblet of warm, steaming potion. "Drink up! It will help you sleep."

Clementine sits up, and takes the warm goblet from Madame Pomfrey's hand. She cautiously brings it to her lips, and takes a small sip. It is warm, sticky and sweet, and it reminds her of honey. She takes a deep breath, suddenly very sleepy.


	5. Chapter 5: The Boy Eating Crackers

**Chapter 5: The Boy Eating Crackers**

When Clementine wakes up, she has a terrible headache. She wonders if she is still suffering from the effects of the Cauldron Scouring Potion, or if the headache is an after effect of the sleeping potion that Madame Pomfrey gave to her. She's so drowsy that she can hardly think straight. She slowly pulls herself up to a sitting position in the bed, wondering how long she has been asleep. _Is it morning or evening?_ There is just a sliver of light coming in from under the curtain around her bed, and the room is rather dark, so she knows it couldn't be the middle of the day.

Clementine blinks several times, and as she pulls back her curtain, the room slowly comes into focus. She looks around carefully, curious as to where the medicine witch might be. She finds that although the hospital wing is full of beds, they are almost all empty...except for one bed directly across from hers, on the other side of the room. The curtain around the newcomer's bed is drawn.

Clementine decides to investigate. She slowly pulls the covers off, noticing for the first time that she is no longer in her Hufflepuff robes but wearing a long, white nightgown that she has never seen before. She methodically swings first one leg, then the other, over the edge of the bed, suddenly finding herself fighting off a wave of nausea. _Perhaps a side effect of the toxic potion in Snape's class yesterday? Or was that the day before?_

After a few deep breaths, she scoots to the edge of the bed, places her feet on the floor, and slowly stands up, trying to ignore the dizziness that accompanies this action. She takes a few unsteady steps, but then she is forced to quickly sit down on the floor, because the room begins to spin. She takes a few more deep breaths, then slowly stands up again. Just as she is on her feet again, a boy's voice speaks from across the room. "Are you alright?" She looks toward the other side of the hospital wing, to find that the new patient has drawn back the curtains around his bed. He is leaning half out of his bed, looking over at her. From where she sits she can tell that he is probably about her age. He's wearing blue and white striped pajamas, and his mess of reddish blond hair spills over his eyes as he gazes over at her from his awkward position on the bed. Clementine sighs and says, "Yes, I think so." She slowly makes her way across the hospital wing, and quickly sits down on the floor next the newcomer's bed before she gets faint again. The boy pulls himself back up into his bed, and props his elbows up with a pillow, lying on his stomach and looking down at Clementine with a curious but concerned expression. "I'm Peter,"he says, in a very matter of fact way, without taking his eyes off of the girl sitting on the floor next to his hospital bed. He had seen this girl around, but he had never spoken to her and didn't know her name. He had always been curious about her, though - she seemed cute. As he gazes upon her now, he sees at her freckles, her long jagged bangs that try to hide her eyes.

She smiles and blushes. "I'm Clementine."

The boy nods, and turns around for a moment, with his back to her, reaching for something on the bedside table. When he faces her again, he's holding a small, round cracker between his teeth. He pulls his cracker into his mouth with his tongue, and crunches down on it.

Suddenly, as if possessed, the boy lets out a very peculiar outburst that causes Clementine to nearly jump out of her own skin! Spewing cracker crumbs Peter yells, " ** _Walrus_** _!_ " Immediately the boy disappears, and there, lying in his bed, is a giant, blubbery walrus. The walrus looks at her expectantly. _Am I imagining this? Perhaps I'm still experiencing side effects of that nasty potion?_ _Am I hallucinating?_ But the walrus continues to stare at her. Then in one swift swipe he tears through the white paper bag, and gulps a cracker. From the instant the cracker enters his mouth, the walrus is a boy again.

Clementine is speechless. Her heart is thundering in her chest. She has seen magic crackers and cookies from Hogsmade, that make people fart purple foam or well up in boils, but she has never seen anything remotely like this. She stares at the boy, who seems to be perfectly fine.

"What - how - erm -"

"What's wrong, Clementine? You're acting like you've never seen magic before."

The boy smiles. He picks up the white paper bag, which is now ripped quite badly. Taking care not spill any crackers, he holds the bag out in front of his new acquaintance. "Here. Have a cracker."


End file.
